Breland v. Willis Knighton Medical Center

212 So. 3d 724, 51 La.App. 2 Cir. 150, 2017 WL 604995, 2017 La. App. LEXIS 209
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 15, 2017
DocketNo. 51,150-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 212 So. 3d 724 (Breland v. Willis Knighton Medical Center) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Breland v. Willis Knighton Medical Center, 212 So. 3d 724, 51 La.App. 2 Cir. 150, 2017 WL 604995, 2017 La. App. LEXIS 209 (La. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

COX, J.

Lin this medical malpractice case, plaintiff, Karla Breland (“Mrs. Breland”), appeals a judgment from the First Judicial District Court, Parish of Caddo, State of Louisiana, wherein the trial court sustained a peremptory exception of prescription in favor of the defendants, Willis Knighton Medical Center, Joseph Jones, M.D., and Lindsey Vierra, R.N. (“Defendants”). Mrs. Breland prays that the trial court be reversed and the case remanded for further proceedings. Defendants request that this Court affirm the decisions of the trial court sustaining their exception of prescription and denying Mrs. Breland’s request for leave to amend her petition. Additionally, Defendants request that this Court hold Mrs. Breland liable for the payment of all costs associated with these proceedings. For the following reasons, we respectfully reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand the case to allow Mrs. Breland the opportunity to amend her petition to include the discovery date of the alleged malpractice.

Facts

Ray David Breland (“Mr. Breland”), Mrs. Breland’s now-deceased husband, suffered from a medical condition that caused the ammonia level in his body to rise. Due to his condition, he was prescribed a minimum of 30cc of Lactulose to be given three times per day to control his ammonia level. The Lactulose also prevented complications associated with his condition, which included mental confusion, agitation, and, if left untreated, toxemia.

Mr. Breland began to suffer from liver complications and was diagnosed with a recurrence of his hernia. He was admitted to Willis Knighton North, and, on June 19, 2014, surgery was performed by Dr. Gazi Zibari. On June 27, 2014, Mr. Breland was discharged to his home. One | ¿month later, on July 27, 2014, he began to experience severe abdominal pain and was taken back to Willis Knighton North.

According to Mrs. Breland’s verified petition, she informed the emergency room nurse and the emergency room physician of Mr. Breland’s need for Lactulose. At that time, Mr. Breland was given only nausea and pain medication. When Mr. Breland was admitted to a hospital room, Mrs. Breland provided the staff with a full list of necessary medications required by Mr. Breland, which included Lactulose.

Upon arrival in his hospital room, Mr. Breland was exhibiting signs of confusion. Mrs. Breland informed the floor nurse that Mr. Breland needed to be given his required Lactulose. Mr. Breland continued to receive only nausea and pain medication. He became restless, and Mrs. Bre-land was advised she should not leave him unattended.

On July 28, 2014, Dr. Zibari was able to fix Mr. Breland’s hernia without surgery. Dr. Zibari informed Mrs. Breland that Mr. Breland could return home the next day. Mrs. Breland requested food and Lactu-lose from Mr. Breland’s on-duty nurse at the time, Lindsey Vierra (“Nurse Vier-ra”).1 Mr. Breland received a liquid diet tray, but still no Lactulose.

Later that afternoon, Dr. Joseph Jones visited Mr. Breland’s room and Mrs. Bre-land again requested that Mr. Breland be given his Lactulose. Dr. Jones told Mrs. Breland that the Lactulose was on a list of medications they received. He also told her he would remind the nurses to give Mr. Breland the Lactulose. Dr. Jones then pushed the call button and told Nurse Vierra to |3be sure Mr. Breland received the Lactulose as required and as written on the ER admitting forms.

[726]*726That evening, Mrs. Breland again asked Nurse Vierra about the Lactulose and reminded her of Mr. Breland’s need for the medication. Nurse Vierra told Mrs. Bre-land that she knew Dr, Jones had instructed her to give the medication, but that he had not written an order to do so. Again, Mrs. Breland informed Nurse Vierra that Mr. Breland required the Lactulose. Nurse Vierra told Mrs. Breland that she would be sure his current on-duty nurse, Sha’Caron Hayes, was informed.

On July 28, 2014, Mrs. Breland was told it was okay to leave Mr. Breland at the hospital so she could attend work the next day. Before Mrs. Breland left the hospital, she spoke to Nurse Hayes who told her there was no order for the Lactulose. Mrs. Breland told Nurse Hayes how important the medication was for Mr. Breland and offered to call Dr. Jones or Dr. Zibari to ensure Mr. Breland’s well-being. Nurse Hayes assured Mrs. Breland she would call the doctors right away. Records indicate 30cc of Lactulose was ordered at 9:10 p.m. on July 28, 2014, and one-half dose (15cc) was given at 3:00 a.m. on July 29, 2014.

On July 29, 2014, Mrs. Breland attempted to call Mr. Breland while she was at work, but there was no answer. Mrs. Bre-land then called the nurses’ station, but his on-duty nurse was unavailable. After one hour, Mrs. Breland called again and requested that someone check on Mr. Breland. Nurse Vierra returned Mrs. Bre-land’s call and informed her that Mr. Bre-land was confused and refusing his Lactu-lose. Nurse Vierra told Mrs. Breland there was an option for him to be given the medication rectally. Mrs. Breland gave Nurse |4Vierra permission to do whatever was necessary to get the medication to Mr. Breland.

Nurse Vierra told Mrs. Breland it was okay for her to wait to come to the hospital on her lunch break at noon. However, Nurse Vierra called Mrs. Breland back to inform her that Mr. Breland had begun to experience respiratory distress and had been placed on a ventilator.

Mrs. Breland left work at 10:00 a.m. When she arrived at the hospital, she was informed that Mr. Breland was in a coma. Dr. Randy D. Bryn informed Mrs. Breland that he had “never seen ammonia levels as high as Mr. Breland’s.” At 11:00 a.m., Mr. Breland’s ammonia level was at 1,036 umol/L.2 At this time, Mr. Breland was being given Lactulose rectally to bring down his ammonia level.

On July 30, 2014, Mr. Breland was suffering from nonstop seizures. Dr. Alexander, the head of the ICU, informed Mrs. Breland that every possible medication was being given to Mr. Breland but nothing was working. Mr. Breland was given a medication that would paralyze his muscles so his body would not seize, but the seizures continued to be active in his brain. On July 31, 2014, Mr. Breland passed away.

In. mid-fall 2014, approximately two months after Mr. Breland’s death, Mrs. Breland sought an attorney to request her husband’s medical records for review.3 On May 29, 2016, Mrs. Breland was advised by her counsel of the alleged acts of negligence by Defendants. On July 29, 2015, Mrs. Breland | afiled suit. On August 14, 2015, she requested a medical review panel. Defendants filed an exception of prescription, which the trial court granted on [727]*727March 21, 2016. Mrs. Breland’s counsel requested leave to amend the petition, which the trial court denied.

The trial court believed that Mrs. Bre-land, a nurse, knew there would be a problem if the Lactulose was not administered to Mr. Breland and was therefore put on notice of her claim at that time. Additionally, the trial court stated that Mrs. Bre-land’s petition was very detailed, and the trial court did not see any amendment Mrs. Breland could make to her original petition that would overcome the defendant’s exception of prescription.

Mrs. Breland filed a devolutive appeal on April 21, 2016, appealing this judgment.

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212 So. 3d 724, 51 La.App. 2 Cir. 150, 2017 WL 604995, 2017 La. App. LEXIS 209, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/breland-v-willis-knighton-medical-center-lactapp-2017.